by Milly Taiden
“They look fabulous on you,” Amie said. And they did.
“Let me guess . . .” Marianne said. “You need to buy clothes because you gave away everything yesterday.” Her laughter rang through the customer-free store. “Frank, your mate is one of the nicest ladies I have ever met.”
Amie’s eyes widened. “Oh, we’re not—”
“Not here to replace everything she gave away,” Frank cut in. “And she is the best, isn’t she?” He kissed her on the top of her head and swatted her ass. She squeaked and jumped a bit.
Marianne’s smile drooped a bit as she looked around. “Well, I’m afraid I don’t have much that will suit your taste. As you can see, the only things most women in town buy are unfashionable and way out of style. I’ve tried updating the clothing, but it just doesn’t sell.”
“Let Frank and me look around for a minute and maybe an idea will pop up based on what we learned yesterday with the ladies. It might be the right time for an upgrade.”
Marianne’s hands crossed over her heart. “That would be so wonderful. Go, look around. Tell me what comes to mind. I’ll be by the counter.”
Frank felt lost, not having the slightest clue about anything. Some of the clothing his mom would like. But he really couldn’t see his mate wearing any of it.
Amie found a section with a variety of options that were more like her, he thought. Conservative, but more modern.
Frank cozied himself behind her, his hard dick settling between her ass cheeks. Hidden among the myriad of clothes, he slid his hands around Amie, under the waist of her pants. She quietly hissed as his fingers separated her pussy folds and found their way inside her. He took her weight as she leaned back.
Fucking damn. Wetness nearly poured from her, slickening his fingers. God, how he wished his dick was inside her. He rubbed up and down her ass, wanting to come hard inside her.
She snatched a few items from the metal rods and hurried toward the fitting room. “Marianne, I’ll be in the fitting room for a while,” Amie called.
“Holler if you need any help,” the owner replied.
She stepped into the stall at the far end and dragged him in with her. He closed the door and pressed her back against it.
CHAPTER 16
Frank smiled and cupped her breasts in his hands. She was so fucking beautiful. “We don’t have time to play,” Amie mumbled, but continued stripping off his T-shirt.
“We don’t?” He chuckled.
“No,” she groaned, sliding her hand up and down his chest, then down into the waistband of his jeans. She undid his zipper, her hands pushing the offensive material down and off his body.
“Then we better make this quick,” he whispered, his gaze locked onto hers. Her eyes filled with love and he knew what she wasn’t saying. That she loved him just as much as he loved her. She was his. In every primal way possible.
Her clothes came off in a rush. She spread her legs open for him, giving him access to her moist heat. He loved the scent of her arousal. Like the sweetest cream, she drew him in for a taste. He planted small kisses on his way down her body. When he reached her belly, he rubbed his cheek on her abdomen before moving down to her sex.
“You smell fucking delicious,” he groaned. Curling his arms around her full, sexy thighs, he pushed her legs back and rubbed his nose over her clit.
“Frank!” She clung to the metal hanger rods.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
“Are you okay in there?” Marianne asked. “I heard a scream.”
“Yeah, uh, we’re”—she groaned—“good.”
Marianne gasped. “Oh my god,” she mumbled before her they heard her heels tapping on the wood floor as she rushed away.
Frank chuckled at Amie’s groan. “She must be imagining the worst,” Amie said.
“Relax,” he whispered and placed a kiss at the center of her gleaming sex.
He licked at her pussy in circles over her tender, slick flesh. Her scent drove his animal wild. There was a clear need and desperate urging on with every word she spoke. She gripped his hair tight in her fists, pushing her pussy to his lips.
She moaned louder at each twirl of his tongue on her clit. Her channel flexed around his tongue, sucking him deep. He wanted to feel her doing that to his cock. Feel her pussy squeeze tight on him with every glide into her fluttering walls.
The tiny bundle of nerves peeking between her pussy lips made his mouth water. He flicked his tongue over the hard little nub. He loved her body. Loved touching and tasting her. He’d die a happy man if he could do this forever. She gasped, legs locking tight. With another lick and the grazing of his teeth, she screamed as her body shook. He inhaled her scent, caressing her quivering sex with his lips.
A tugging on his hair caused him to glance up. Her smile and sleepy eyes brought back that satisfied feeling from before. He didn’t know why she’d left before, but this, them, they were fucking perfect together.
“Come here,” she whispered with a wide smile on her swollen lips.
He stood up, ignoring the aching hard-on and the desperate need to ram into her. He’d been thinking of this, her and him inside her for way too long. It never left his mind. With one hand on his cock, she pumped him hard from root to tip.
Lord, that felt so fucking amazing. He clenched his teeth to keep from begging her to do it again, and watched her smile widen.
“I love that.”
“What?” he asked with a crazy rough quality to his voice. One he couldn’t help since his animal lay right below the surface.
“That brightness in your eyes.”
“You like it? Why?”
She pumped him in her grip again. “I can see you’re fighting your control and losing,” she mumbled. “Are you losing your control over me?”
“Baby, I’m this close to fucking your brains into the next stall,” he said, his voice deeper and harder due to how turned-on he was.
“Do it.” She licked her lips. “I feel empty without you.”
Fuck, this wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. Another time and he’d have tried to take it easy. Taken it slow. Not today. He wanted her too much. Her scent called out the beast within. In a single thrust, he drove deep. Her pussy rippled around his cock.
“Oh, god!”
Her whimper of satisfaction did him in. They locked lips and kissed while the urge to fill her with his seed overpowered all his thinking abilities.
Fuck her. Take her. Mate her.
Thrusts turned frenzied, his movements uncoordinated. She dug her nails deep into his shoulders. The bite of pain only pushed his feral side to the open. A growl rumbled in his chest, blending with the sound of her enjoyment. Her nails raked his scalp and she yanked his hair back, pulling his face from hers. She chose that moment to squeeze her pelvic muscles around his cock.
“Hell!” he choked out.
“Make. Me. Come,” she ordered breathlessly.
He rammed her repeatedly. Their gazes locked. The link between them thickened with each thrust, until there was nothing but the two of them. Nothing else existed in their passion bubble. Sliding a hand between them, he rubbed on her slick center and watched her go over.
Pleasure filled her features, and she choked back a scream. His muscles burned from exertion. His beast turned his body stiff as he closed in on his own release. Fire crackled down his spine, shooting through his cock and releasing into her channel, filling her with his scent. Marking her as his from inside.
He jerked into her greedily, groaning at each suck her pussy did on his dick. With every spasm of her sex, he jerked again. It went like that for long moments.
“Wow, Frank. I’ve never had this type of experience in a fitting room, but damn. This is a much better way to go shopping.”
He chuckled and kissed her, holding her
still-shaking body in a tight embrace. She was his. No matter what she said, she was his.
• • •
Amie straightened the new outfit she finally got to try on and decided she’d wear it now. She made her way to the counter while Frank slipped outside. That was a good thing. If he was anywhere near her, she’d never cool down.
She laid the tags and garments on the counter for Marianne to ring up. The owner’s cheeks blushed a bit. “May I ask you a question, Ms. Truman?” she asked.
“Only if you call me Amie,” she replied with a smile.
“How did you become so self-confident and powerful?”
Powerful? Amie never thought of herself as powerful. In fact, she felt like she was under the thumb of her uncle. But she put herself in Marianne’s place in this small town. Thinking that way, Amie could see how she looked bigger than life with all the flashy clothes and jewelry.
“Truthfully, Marianne, I live by a motto: Fake it ’til you make it. You can’t be confident if you don’t see yourself that way.”
“How can I possibly see myself like you?”
Oh, god. If Marianne only knew how pathetic Amie felt sometimes, but had to be strong for her son. What could she tell this woman that would help her?
“Well, the first thing you have to do is take control of your life. Write down how you want to be and work on doing just that. For example, if a woman wants to feel sexy, she needs to wear what she feels sexy in. The place to start is with lingerie.”
Marianne giggled. “Crotchless undies and stuff? Should I add that to my lingerie inventory?”
“Not necessarily to that extreme. Granted, granny underwear doesn’t usually make someone feel sexy, but maybe a high-cut bikini with slick material. Just by changing from cotton to silk, you feel a difference against your skin and in how it makes you feel.”
Marianne seemed to be taking everything in.
Amie chewed her lip, wondering if she wanted to broach this subject or not. What the hell? “Have you ever been properly fitted for a bra?”
The woman looked at her. “I don’t even know what that means.”
Amie realized what she was about to share with the store owner could change the woman’s life. “This, Marianne, is how you are going to change this town and make it better than it has ever been for women. To feel confident, you need to wear what makes you feel that way and wear it correctly.” Amie looked around for other customers. The store was empty.
“Come with me.” She grabbed Marianne’s hand and led her to the fitting room. “You’re a big gal like me. And sometimes clothes have to be adjusted a bit.” Amie took the lady to the mirrors then turned to Marianne. “Unbutton your blouse, and I’ll show you what you need to teach each woman and maturing girl when they come for their first bras.”
Marianne blushed a bit, but she seemed eager to learn.
“Okay, let’s start here.” Amie pointed to the bottom front of the cups. “The underwire or band across the chest needs to lay against your ribcage right under the breast. No gaps of too far down or on the breast itself. Right now, see the gap at the bottom? The wire is not flush against your chest.” Marianne ran a finger over the bottom of the bra smashed against the underneath of her large breast.
“Hmm.” More than just the verbal discussion was needed here. “Don’t move,” Amie continued, “I’ll be right back.” She headed toward the undergarments section at the back of the store. Needed to do something about that, too. People couldn’t buy what they couldn’t see. Lingerie is a spontaneous buy.
She pulled out a size 36DD. Some women suffered all day long just because they wanted to say they wore the same size they did in high school. They are doing more harm to their bodies than good.
“Put this on,” Amie said, handing over the brassiere, “in the stall, then let me know how it feels.” While Marianne changed, Amie thought it best to talk about the other side of the coin. “There’s the opposite case, where the underwire is too low, which allows the ladies to sag in the cup. We all know sagging is not good. So if the wire is on the ribs, exactly where the breast ends and chest begins, then there shouldn’t be drooping.”
The stall opened and the store owner stepped out. “This is so much better. I hate that it’s a size bigger, but it feels so much better.”
Amie leaned forward. “Now, bend over a bit to have the ladies dangle, then reach in and lift one as high as it will go.” When Marianne did so, the bra’s underwire rested against her ribs. “Do the same for the other lady. Lift the breast so the bottom strap sits on ribs. Now stand straight.”
Marianne’s expression told Amie she’d done good. “Oh my goodness. I feel so much lighter. I don’t feel as smashed.”
“Exactly,” Amie said. “By lifting and letting your ladies settle, the underwire is doing its job of holding up instead of letting the breast hang with nothing underneath. You want your ladies looking up and not down, if you get my meaning.” Both laughed as Marianne stared at her correct support.
“Of course, the rest of the fit is to make sure it’s not too tight or too loose. Needs to be comfortable. And the cup needs to be big enough to hold the entire breast in the front. If your bra smashes your ladies and they fall out of the cup’s sides, then get a bigger size. Plus, the wider the straps, the better the support also. Women like us really shouldn’t wear elastic spaghetti straps with a one-eye hook in the back for long periods of time.”
“I know,” Marianne said. “You’d be a walking time bomb, ready to explode. Literally.” They giggled. Amie buttoned up her friend’s blouse then stood back and looked in the mirror.
“If you start feeling heavy during the day, step away from others’ eyes, then bend forward and give the straps a little shake to get the ladies up again. Now it’s your responsibility to teach correct support to others.” Amie hooked an arm through one of Marianne’s. “I also think you can bring in modern styles. But the trick is showing the other ladies in town how to wear the new stuff.
“Maybe every spring and fall, have a fun little fashion show here at the store and have some of the ladies model outfits. Show everyone how to wear the right jewelry, even how a scarf can change a look. Show them how to wrap and tie a scarf, and the ladies will more than likely buy what they know how to use.”
At the store’s entrance, Marianne stopped Amie in her tracks. “Oh my god. You’re right. That’s the problem. The women don’t know how to wear the new fancy stuff. They don’t know how to match leggings to the right sweaters or tops. Or how to use a belt around the sweater to make it a manicured look.”
“Yes,” Amie said. “You got it! Exactly.”
Tears came to the store owner’s eyes. Oh, shit. What did she do wrong? “You okay, Marianne?”
“I’m fine. It’s just that for the first time, I see this store being what I’ve always wanted it to be. It’ll be a dream come true to give women self-assurance through wearing what makes them feel good. Like you.” Marianne gave her a hug. “Thank you so much for the ideas and confidence to finally do this.”
“You’ll do great. Let me know if you ever want someone to bounce ideas off. I make a great sounding board.” Amie sighed with happiness, knowing she was able to help someone and made a new friend for life. Frank opened the door and stepped in.
“We ready to go to the park—” Frank looked her up and down.
“Something wrong?” Amie asked.
“No, just admiring my lady like I remember her. No flashy stuff. Just you.” Both she and Marianne melted on the spot.
“Wow,” Marianne said, “you got yourself a good one, Amie.”
Amie slipped her arm around Frank’s waist. “Yes, I do.”
CHAPTER 17
Frank held on to a shopping bag with a couple outfits Marianne had handed him before they left the store. The park they strolled had more people milling around than he was used to seeing. Mo
ms sat on benches, talking while the kids played on the playground. So much for her keeping a low profile. The entire town knew her already.
“So,” Frank said, “did you mean it when you agreed on me being a great guy? Which I am, you know.” He tugged on his shirt, lifting his chin.
“Please,” Amie retorted, “don’t make me puke.” She laughed when he feigned being emotionally hurt. His heart hurt, but for a different reason.
A couple ladies on a bench waved. “Hi, Amie, Frank.”
Susan gave them a conspiratorial wink. “We know it’s not our business, and not to pressure you guys, but are you planning on dating soon?”
Cheryl elbowed Susan. “I think they already are. You two make such a cute couple. Thanks for the party yesterday. It was great.”
Amie waved back. “Thanks, Susan and Cheryl. I’ll see what I can come up with for an encore.”
He mustered the courage to ask what he really wanted to know. “So, what do I need to know about Amerella Capone that’s different from Amie Truman?” Her fear and shame floated in the air. But he stood strong. He wanted her to answer him. Answers were important.
She chewed her lip. “Amerella and Amie are the same. I never lied to you. I just gave selective answers.”
“Selective answers?” he asked. “What’s that?”
“You know the saying that men have ‘selective hearing.’ I was offering selective answers. Things that I knew wouldn’t scare you or make you leave me.” He couldn’t believe she thought her family would scare him off. She never gave him a chance to show her. As he readied to make a retort, Amie held up a hand.
“Hi, Amie. Hi, Frank. Loved the party, Amie. Tell Jean thanks for hosting.”
“You’re welcome, Scarlet. We’ll be sure to tell her.” Amie took a deep breath. “Let me finish, then you can tear into me. My mom and dad died in a car wreck when I was young. I told you that. Uncle Giuseppe became my guardian and I lived in his mansion until I escaped to college.”